Two jurors in the Jerry Sandusky trial open up about what they witnessed in the courtroom and how they reached their decision in the case.

Joshua Harper says he viewed the victims as credible, and was watching Sandusky's reaction to the witness testimony. "It seemed to be he was kind of reminiscing of the victims...he would kind of lean in towards them...like he was thinking about the victims and his behavior with them," said Harper.

Ann Van Kuren says she did want to see Sandusky testify. She believes the victims' compelling testimony was the most critical evidence in the case.

soundoff(15 Responses)

Coach Lew

Are we to Now believe that NONE of the football players knew what was going on with THEIR coaches? News of divorces, affairs, perverts, homosexuals etc spread faster than a wild fire except this fire was covered with a blanket and evidently swept way under the carpet. HOGWASH Penn State, everyone of the staff, alumni, board of trustees, teachers and students knew just about everything that Sandusky was doing but NOT ONE person had the guts to go to the law about it. Why, because there is a group that runs Penn State University and it wouldn't have been healthy to go against them. The NCAA needs to make the punishment fit the crime(s) because everyone in charge knew what was going on.

Give me 10 murder cases instead of one case like this wherein it's purely based on narrative accounts for me to be a jury member in. In murder cases, some form of objective evidence has to be presented that would pass the 'beyond a reasonable doubt' test. I just hope and pray that the decision of the jury is the correct one.

I completely agree that Sandusky should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, as should ANYONE who was directly involved. But punish Penn State athletes and students who weren't even in college at the time of the incidents? That's absurd and unfair.

No one is directly punishing students and athletes. They may suffer some penalties, but this is only because the sports program and administration were colluding at the very highest level to cover-up sex abuse. I am sorry but an organization suffers when its leadership engages in illegal and unethical conduct. It's collateral damage.

I wish jurors would not say these things–or even give these interviews. Would not such a statement as "He looked creepy" help Sandusky's appeal? The fact that he did not testify, also, is a fact not in evidence. Am I wrong about this?

Actually no, it won't be useful for the defense on appeal. Once a jury is released as this one is, there is no further requirement that they remain quiet about the case. The conviction and details of the defense and prosecution are a matter of public record. There is therefore no limitation on free speech unless the case was sealed. This case was not sealed by the judge. The juries comments are no foul.

Sandusky don't have to testify and it cant be held against him. The juror didnt say that we found him guilty because he did not testify, she did not even say that we leaned towards guilty because of it. She simply said that I would have liked to see him testifying. What all jurors have said is that we found victims and prosecution witnesses very credible.
They can say that they found Sandusky's behavior creepy. Because the way a person hold him/herself in court can be used in determining Sundusky's fate. Looking Sundusky's behavior is no different then looking witnesses behavior!

What I would like to know is WHERE IS THE NCAA?......Its pretty obvious that certain people KNEW about what was going on and did nothing for the better part of a decade, maby 2 decades....And what went on is the WORST OF THE WORST!!!! Heavy sanctions should be placed on Penn State, 2 years Death Penalty for Football or 10 years no post season IN ALL SPORTS....Hey, dont blame me, blame Sandusky, Spanier, Hurley and Paterno. That's right Jo PA!..He knew and STILL let Sandusky bring kids to that facility and nobody will ever convience me otherwise.

I do believe that to a certain extent Coach Paterno was negligent in not following up on the "activities" in the JS situation. But I think that JS was very, very guilty in doing what he did to begin with. If he had kept stuff in his pants and hands to himself to begin with, there would have been nothing to report!!

With all the publicitiy caesud by the accidental release of the grand jury report, it's going to be difficult now to seperate the real victims from those who are more interested in collecting monetary damages first and foremost.It's really a shame no one is taking much interest in finding out exactly how the presentment got into the public domain before the charges were filed and a trial held. I'd venture to say there's no area of the state that doesn't have some connection to Penn State either through branch campuses, sports fans or alumni. After all the sensationalism, where is the AG going to find an unbiased Pennsylavania jury? They are going to have move this trial to some remote town in Idaho unless Sandusky saves them the trouble by taking a plea deal.

Who is paying for Sandusky's legal fees and for the appeal? Follow the money and the strings.

His face looked the way it did during the trial because he is an empty shell - there is no emotion there, no grey matter, no intellect. Did he ever grow up? Something is wrong with him intellectually. Like dense, or slow.